Blood Out
by StarvingLunatic
Summary: For the Halloween spirit. Sequel to Blood In. Kim and Shego find that they haven't moved past Shego's fears of Kim leaving and she is pushing Kim away, but they don't know why. What will they do? And just who is Carmilla? Come find out. KiGo.
1. Mist

Welcome to the latest and the last installment of the "Vampire Kimmie" series. I would like to thank everyone that has read this series. I would also like to thank my beta reader on this story Ken-zero. I hope you guys enjoy.

Blood Out 

1: Mist

Shego groaned as she felt an elbow in her ribs. She had a feeling that the elbow was there on purpose, wanting to take her from her sleep. She refused to let it win, keeping her eyes closed tight and snuggling into the firm, comfortable mattress for the long haul. The elbow moved, but the mission was not abandoned if the weight on her chest meant anything. Her eyes remained closed, though.

"Shego…" The name was whispered with a high level of seduction. A wet kiss to her neck followed the whisper.

"Sleeping," the plasma-wielder muttered, turning over to her side, thinking that she would get rid of the sex-kitten that she shared a bed with.

"Doesn't sound like it…" Shego could feel the smile that was pressed against her flesh.

Shego groaned again. "Come on, Pumpkin. Lemme sleep!"

Kim chuckled a bit while clinging to her lover's back. She kissed the pale woman's bare shoulder, but she did not go any further, letting Shego go back to sleep. She busied herself by caressing the sharp muscles of Shego's biceps and her shoulders. Through out the exploration, the older woman barely moved, except for her breathing. Kim was amused by this for almost an hour, even though she already knew Shego's body better than her own. Eventually, she did want to get Shego up and it really had nothing to do with satisfying her sexual appetite.

"Shego…" Kim whispered into her companion's ear.

"Hmm?" the sleeping woman replied. It sounded more like she was groaning than responding, but it was good enough for her vampire lover.

"Are you up yet?"

"You know, we wouldn't have this problem if you didn't need sex to fall asleep," the former thief grumbled. She kept her eyes closed, but moved her arm a little to fluff up her pillow. A sigh escaped her lips as her head sank deeper into her pillow.

"I can't help it that you're so sexy!" the redhead remarked with a cheeky grin. Wrapping her arms around Shego, she rubbed herself against Shego while also rocking the older woman from side to side.

The older woman could not help snickering a little and turned over back onto her back. Kim quickly draped herself on top of the former thief. Shego still had her eyes closed, but her hands did not need any help in finding their way to Kim's lower back. Kim put her arms around Shego's neck and rested her head on Shego's shoulder.

"Are you getting up now?" Kim asked, putting on an adorable pout in case her lover decided to open her eyes.

"Why won't you let me sleep? You keep bugging me," Shego pretended to huff, eyes remaining shut. Her fingertips slid up and down the curve of Kim's back.

"I want you to get up, doy."

"Why? What's so important that I have to get up right this minute?"

"So we can go out and have fun together," Kim explained with an impish smile.

"Go out?" Shego muttered, snorting lightly through her nose.

Kim noted the hint of doubt in her lover's voice. "Yes, go out."

The vampire sensed some hesitation in her partner, beyond wanting to stay in bed. Crawling over the taller body, she faced the older woman. Shego turned away, which let Kim know that something was very wrong. The redhead reached out for Shego and forced Shego to look at her. The plasma-wielder glanced away, but eventually her eyes met her beloved's gaze.

"Shego, what's wrong with going outside?" Kim demanded to know.

"Nothing wrong with it. I just don't have time for it," Shego answered.

Kim frowned. "I thought we were past this. You don't have to keep blowing me off, thinking I'm going to leave."

"I'm not blowing you off because I think you're going to leave. I'm blowing you off because there's a lot to do around here and I don't have time to play outside." Her tone was firm, as if she was speaking the stone, cold truth.

Olive eyes narrowed, studying Shego more closely than she ever would have until what happened a few days ago. She found that Shego had been ducking her and avoiding doing things with her because the former thief thought that Kim was going to abandon her once she could settle in the real world. Apparently, Shego managed to forget that she was Kim's whole world. The very idea that Kim would forget such a thing seemed totally outlandish to the redhead and the fact that they were still going through it was even worse because they had already discussed it.

A soft hand came out to caress a pale green cheek and Kim spoke softly, "I don't understand why you're so frustrated, Shego. I know this place needs a lot of work, but this just isn't like you."

"What do you mean?" Shego asked curiously, as if she truly did not know.

Kim's brow furrowed, eyes squinting in confusion. Green eyes met and Kim could see that Shego was honestly bewildered about why it was not like her to want to fix everything up in a hurry. Kim studied this odd look, not sure what to make of it. Suddenly, Shego started blinking and her eyes started to clear of the mucky puzzlement, but not totally. Kim decided to explain what she meant to see if that might wipe away the strange expression.

"Shego, you know you're generally a lazy creature, unless you're burying yourself in your folklore research or trying to spar with me. This isn't like you at all. In fact, the first couple of days we moved in here, I thought I'd end up being the one doing all of the work and you'd find a way to lounge and tan."

Shego nodded, taking in the information. She glanced downward for a moment and Kim noticed that the bewildered look was coming back, as if Shego thought that Kim was lying. The vampire grabbed her mate by the chin and forced Shego to look at her in the eyes again. Kim wondered if this weird look had been in Shego's eyes for a while and she missed it or if it was something new. She hoped it was not the former because it meant that she had not been paying her mate much mind for longer than she liked.

"Shego, sweetheart, don't you remember how you used to be? I really thought you'd enjoy being free, but you're treating this like a new prison. Why? I know this can't just be because you're scared of losing me. It seems like something much more," Kim commented.

The green-skinned woman blinked hard and then rubbed her face with her hands, as if she was trying to honestly remember how she used to be. She started considering what was wrong with her. She and Kim had worked out that they were together forever, so she could not figure out what she was still acting like she had a couple of weeks ago when she was scared that she was going to lose the vampire to the outside world.

Emerald eyes locked onto dark olive eyes again. Shego felt like a fog was lifting from her, but going much too slowly for her to make any sense out of anything. It was just enough for her to know that something was wrong with her, just as Kim seemed to suspect.

"Kimmie, I don't know what's wrong with me, especially now. Ever since we got here, I have wanted to do two things at once. Yes, I want to lie in the sun, sleep forever, and maybe screw you every now and then." She paused to smirk, looking much like her former self. "But, on the other hand, I keep telling myself that I need to get this place in top condition and not do anything else. I don't know why, but I feel like I need to stay in here."

Kim's face twisted and she looked more than perplexed. It was almost like she did not know the person next to her, even though she knew Shego better than any other person on the planet. It was just that the words did not fit with anything that she knew about Shego.

"I don't get it, Shego. I mean, I remember when we first got here and you looked around at all of the work that we had to do and every time I added something to the list, you'd moan and groan as loudly as possible. I practically had to kick you in the ass to get you to go to the store with me the first time to buy supplies," Kim recalled.

Shego nodded. "I know what you mean. I remember too. Hell, I wake up and dread doing this most of the time, but still I'm compelled to do it. It's been that way…since we moved in here as far as I can tell."

"No, this didn't start the moment we moved in here. Like I said, you bitched and moaned—as expected—when we moved in. I'm sure it was after we moved in, but I'm not totally sure when. I don't know, but it might be after that first shopping trip for supplies. After that, it seemed like fixing this place was something that you could, _maybe_, possibly get into, but you still weren't so dogmatic about it."

Shego nodded again because that all did make sense to her, but even now, she felt compelled to go fix up the house while letting Kim go outside. Pale green features dropped, but emerald eyes remained locked on Kim. It was like the vampire was forcing Shego to keep looking. The thought that Kim might be forcing her to look at her heavily struck the former thief as soon as she had it.

"Kimmie," Shego said suddenly.

"Yes?" the redhead answered.

"Have you been practicing your thrall by any chance? You know, your weird, hypnotic stare," Shego pointed out. She knew it was called a thrall based on all of her research, but Kim rarely remembered the technical name for it because she rarely used the power.

"Not really. Why?"

"Because I can't look away," Shego answered honestly. It was a bit disturbing because she knew that she was caught in one of Kim's weaker powers. It was something that Kim could not do without conscious effort usually and even then she was never very good with it. She could not help wondering how strong the thrall would be if Kim knew how to use it.

"Sorry," Kim apologized, looking away, hoping that would release Shego from her unknown spell.

Shego blinked. "No, it's all right. It's not like you were doing that on purpose." She paused for a moment before taking the conversation back to what they were originally talking about. "Honestly, I don't know what the hell is wrong with me and never wanting to leave this place. And even after we talked, I still have this biting bit at the back of my mind telling me that you're going to leave…"

"Shego!" Kim grabbed her lover's hands and held them tightly. Once again green eyes locked on each other as the vampire continued on. "I told you that I'm not going anywhere. I won't leave you, not now, not ever!" she promised with her whole heart.

"Damn it, Kimmie, I know that! Deep inside I know that, but there's this fucking piece in me, like it isn't even a part of me that keeps telling me that you're going to leave and I should let you!" Shego replied.

"You better never listen to it!" Kim ordered, a bit of her new nature coming out—the nature of a predator, a creature used to being in charge. She clutched her lover tightly, physically commanding the older woman to never try to leave.

"Calm down, Pumpkin. I'm just telling you what's going on in my head now that we're on the topic."

Kim glanced down. "I'm sorry about that, Shego. It's just that thought of being apart from you makes me a little crazy. I can't imagine being without you. No one could ever replace you, you know that, right?" There was silence for longer than she liked. "Right?"

"I do know that, but something in my damn head is trying to contradict it right now. And when I say right now, I mean this very minute. There's just a voice in my head, snickering about how you're going to leave me the second I turn my back to you and there's nothing I can do about it!" Shego growled in frustration.

"Ignore the stupid voice and listen to me! I'm telling you what's in my heart right now and I never want us to be apart. I think we need to spend some time together for you to believe that. What do you think?" Kim proposed.

"It does sound like a good idea and I would love to do it. I mean, we haven't spent time together like we used to since we escaped from GJ."

Kim grinned because all she really wanted to do was spend time with her sweetheart. She hoped that Shego would agree to spending time outside since they agreed to spend some time together. She wanted to see some spark of the old Shego back…outside of a battle anyway.

"So, what do you want to do then?" Kim inquired, purring a little as she rubbed her body against her lover's, loving the feel of their skins meeting and pressing together. It was pretty obvious what she wanted to do spending time together. The vampire doubted that she would ever get enough of feeling her body against Shego's body.

"You think I'm giving into your perverted mind, Princess?" Shego inquired with a teasing grin.

"Please and thank you," Kim begged before taking a nip at Shego's pale throat.

"Usually, I would give in because you said please, but I want to get up and get dressed. Going outside is sounding really good to me and I think I need to do it now before that damned voice gets the better of me."

"Okay! I really did want to go outside with you. Of course, I would've preferred getting a little bit before hand," the redhead remarked, grinding against her mate.

Shego groaned with pleasure from the movement. "Cut that out, Princess. I really want to get up and go right now. I don't want to talk myself out of it."

"Then let's go take a shower and get out of here! I wonder what time it is," Kim commented, figuring knowing the time might help her plan out what to do with her lover.

The couple managed to crawl out of their large, firm bed. Shego grunted as she slammed into the coffin that was next to the bed, forgetting it was even there. She muttered a curse while Kim just laughed.

"Why the hell do we even have this in here? When was the last time you slept in this thing?" Shego complained, even though the little pain that she felt was gone already.

"I like it there just in case I do get the urge to crawl in there. Besides, we haven't been here that long. You don't know if I won't want to sleep in it just as often as I used to," Kim argued.

"Then can we move it to your side of the bed?" Shego huffed.

"I dunno, can we move your library to your side of the bed?" Kim countered. After all, she did almost run into a tower of books when she got out of bed. She just had the presence of mind to miss it. "Wait, we have sides of the bed?" she asked curiously.

Shego paused to think about it. "For the sake of this argument, yeah, we do." Honestly, she slept where she dropped and Kim would curl up to her on whichever side had more bed on it.

"Then why don't we just switch next time?" Kim asked.

"Now you're trying to be logical! God, don't you know how to have an argument yet?" Shego teased.

The redhead smiled. "Of course, but I want to take a shower a lot more than I want to have an argument."

"Agreed!" This was accompanied by an eager grin from the older woman.

The couple scurried off into the shower, which turned out to be a mistake. Their shower was similar to one that could be found in a gym locker room, nothing intimate about it. Shego started looking around, thinking about how she wanted to remodel the whole thing. Kim noticed that she was losing her lover for the simple fact that Shego was not looking at her in all of her naked glory.

"Shego," Kim said, cupping her beloved's face and turning Shego back to her.

"Hmm?" Shego replied, showing that she heard the vampire, even though she still was not looking at the smaller female.

"Shego, what is wrong with you?" Kim huffed.

"Sorry, Kimmie. I was just thinking that I wanted to do something about this shower. I hate that it seems like we're in a wrecked high school locker room. I want our shower to be rich and intimate," Shego explained.

Kim smiled. "Sounds good. I'd like that. Maybe this could be the first project we really work on together. We could go out and get supplies for it. What do you think?"

"Isn't this how this whole mess started? Are you sure you're going to help me with this?"

Kim held up her right hand with her left hand on her heart. "Pixie scout honor! I want to spend time with you, baby. I want us to be close again. Plus, I would love for us to have a nice shower! We could do something with a bench or something!"

Shego narrowed her gaze on the vampire, knowing there was a thinly disguised sexual reason for Kim wanting a bench in the shower. She really did not care about the reason. She was more curious to see if her lover was serious about helping out on their home now. After all, Kim had not done much since they moved in.

"Are you sure about this? Sure you're not just going to start and then go hang out with your family?" Shego asked.

"I'm not going to see my family until you agree to go back with me. They think you don't like them, but I've told you that already."

An ebony eyebrow arched. "Not going to see your family? Like hell you're not! We didn't bust out of GJ just for you to piss your time away like that!"

"We didn't bust out of GJ just for you to rot away in this place, crying over something that won't happen!" Olive eyes flashed with anger, burning into emerald eyes.

Shego blinked and it looked like something clicked in her mind. Her eyes cleared again and suddenly she found herself smiling. She embraced Kim, pulling them both directly underneath the shower-head. Moaning, they both leaned in for a heated kiss. When they broke apart, Shego felt whole for the first time in a while.

"I guess we can stop by your parents' house on the way to the store…" Shego muttered.

"Good. And what about the shower?" Kim asked between panting to catch her breath. It had been a while since she had been kissed like that.

"I guess we can figure out how to install a bench when we start to remodel the shower," the older woman conceded, even though she would have done that without being kissed senseless.

"And I'll help you with the floors after that. Are you still putting wood down?"

"Actually, I haven't finished pulling up the old floor. I do have the wood and I know how to do it, so I can show you while we go through."

Kim nodded and thought that she had a lot to catch up with in regards to Shego. The former thief was one of those people that only had to read about something and could figure out how to do it, so with a lot of the home improvements that they needed to make, Shego already had a feel for how to do them because she read up on them. Kim was more hands-on, so she had to follow Shego's example. She thought that it would be fun, though, since they would get to spend time together.

Once they were done with the shower, they dressed and finally found out what time it was. It was late in the afternoon, so they thought that it would be a nice time to visit Kim's parents before hitting up the local Home Depot for all of their home improvement needs. Kim grinned from ear to ear when they stepped out into the light while Shego shielded her eyes.

"For some reason, it feels like forever and a day since I've done this," Shego commented.

"What do you mean?" Kim asked.

"Just being outside, with you," the former thief replied with a small smile as a gentle breeze nipped at her face. The warmth of the sun kissed her pale cheek and she suddenly remembered that she was a sun-worshipper. "I need to get out more and sunbathe!" she declared.

The redhead grinned even more. "Now that's the Shego I know! I think you should get back into the sun. For those few days when you were out before, it looked like it was really improving your complexion. I mean, you've been beyond pasty for a while because of the lack of sunlight."

"You bet your sweet ass I'll be out here more! I can't believe I had forgotten how much I liked being outside just lounging around." Shego paused to take a big, deep breath. "I'll have to find my old lounge chairs and just hang out here. What do you think?"

"If I can lie on you or by you while you're just napping, I wouldn't mind," Kim answered honestly.

Shego smiled and they took a long stroll to the Possible residence. They did not talk much, just commenting on the lovely weather and such. Other than that, they just enjoyed each other's presence, going so far as to hold hands like they were giddy, little schoolgirls. Kim hugged up against Shego every now and then, just in case someone going by might wonder if they were together or not. By the time, they arrived at the house, both doctors were home and surprised to see that they had double the amount of guests that they were used to.

"Shego, Kim actually got you out of the house?" Ann teased, ushering both women through the door.

"Yeah, I don't know what's come over me, but Kim isn't content to just let me bury myself in chores," Shego replied with a good-natured smile. She could see that Ann was eyeing her oddly, seriously not expecting her, which made her feel a little bad.

"I'm glad you're here. Are you two staying for dinner?" Ann asked, forgetting her daughter's vampire status.

"Dinner sounds great!" Kim answered with a happy grin.

"Uh…Kimmie," Shego said, earning a glance from her mate.

"We can still make Home Depot, Shego. We eat pretty early," Kim promised.

"You need to go to Home Depot?" Ann asked as they all walked to the living room to sit together for a while. James was already there.

"We're going to try to fix up the shower in the lair together. I'm going to try to stop slacking on our home repairs and Shego's going to try to make it outside with me more," Kim explained while her father rose to greet her and Shego.

"Oh, that's nice. Shego, have you gotten far on the house? Should I even call it a house?" Ann inquired. Having never seen her daughter's home before, but knowing it was a former villain's lair, she was not sure what it could be considered.

Shego was paused in answering when James suddenly pulled her in a hug. Before she could fathom what was going on, the embrace was over and James moved onto Kim. Shego felt weird about it, somehow able to tell that the Possibles had really missed her. Guilt nipped at the back of her mind, but was held off by another little thing in her head that was telling her she should have stayed home no matter what. She tried to shake it off, turning back to answer Ann.

"I guess you could call it a house. It's where me and Kimmie plan to live, after all. It's a lot bigger than an actual house and much more rundown. I haven't gotten very far in fixing it up," Shego explained.

"No?" James asked, turning to her. "From the way Kim told it, we thought that you redesigned the whole place by now and that's why we never got to see you," he commented.

Shego scratched the back of her head, looking a strange mix of confused and sheepish. "Well, I don't know what happened with that. Maybe because I spent a lot of my time worrying about silly things than getting any work done," she replied honestly.

"Well, I hope you two work better together and you get out more. You need to realize you're a part of this family too!" James declared, patting her on the back and grinning broadly at her.

Shego smiled a bit and accepted the welcome, like they thought she had before. She seemed comfortable after a while, just like before. The Possibles, Kim included, could only hope that this visit did not end like the first one, where Shego seemed comfortable with them and then they only saw her again that day Kim was almost killed not too long ago.

"You two seemed to have healed nicely. Ron looked a little worse for wear when he left," Ann commented. She really did not want to bring the incident up, but Kim and Shego had healed much faster than poor Ron and she wanted to make sure that they were as healthy as they looked.

"He did. I hope Yori isn't upset with us for the shape that he showed up," Kim remarked with a laugh. "But, we're fine. Me and Shego are a tough pair," she assured her parents.

"You have to be to survive everything you've gone through," James said, even though he did not know half of the things that they had been through.

"And we'll keep on going," Kim stated soundly, looking her mate dead in the eye for Shego to know that they were going to make it—_together_—no matter what.

Shego smiled, making it seem like that she felt the same way, but the sentiment did not seem to last. Yes, they had an excellent visit with the Possibles, going so far as Kim forcing down some food, just because her mother did not remember until the plate was made that Kim was not human. Shego ate whatever Kim did not finish and they all exchanged pleasant conversation for the whole time. It seemed so perfect to Kim and then something happened to spoil it all—and Kim could not figure out what happened.

They were in the Home Depot, Shego had already picked out a book on fixing bathrooms and they were just looking for paint in order to do something simple for the rest of the night. Kim was inspecting the colors when Shego looked down into an aisle, spotting a pretty redhead. The pale redhead happened to glance at her at the same time. Electric blue eyes locked with her own, stared deeply at her for a few seconds before disappearing, leaving Shego staring at empty air.

"Shego?" Kim shook the older woman, finally gaining her attention.

"Hmm?" Shego said, turning her head to face Kim. She felt a cloud coming over her mind, but it started to lift a little as she focused on the shorter female.

"Shego, are you all right? I've been calling you for almost a minute to look at these colors for the foyer," Kim replied, tilting her head, examining Shego. She could feel that something was wrong, but she was not sure what it was. She could not figure out what could go wrong between paint cans either since everything was all right a couple of minutes ago.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Look, Kimmie, why don't you go hang out or something? I can handle all of this crap," Shego replied, waving her hand a little, like she was dismissing the redhead.

Kim blinked hard. "Wha—what? Are you all right? We agreed to do this together and we agreed to spend more time together. I'm not going to go run out on you now."

"No, it's all right, Princess. I would rather you go do something that you want to do," Shego argued.

"I am doing something I want to do, I'm spending time with you. Why the hell are you trying to run me off?" Kim inquired in a baffled tone, grabbing her lover's hands and holding them tightly.

The ebony-haired woman glanced down at their hands. "I'm not trying to run you off. I just want you to live your life. I can fix up the house."

"I want to fix up the house with you!" Kim declared with a growl, which actually kept her from shouting.

"Why? You have friends that you could hang out with," Shego insisted.

"Why the hell are you trying to push me away, Shego? I thought you wanted me around! Why are you acting like this?" Kim hissed, trying to keep her volume under control, but it was clear that she and Shego were having an argument. Something about the energy that they were giving off kept people from staring at what was happening, though.

"I'm not pushing you away. I just don't want you to be bored or anything like that. You can go do something better," Shego countered.

"I don't want to do something 'better.' I want to be with you. Now, come look at these damned paint colors or we're going to cause a damned spectacle in this damned Home Depot," Kim snarled, fangs gleaming in the light and eyes flashing from her fury.

Shego opened her mouth to argue, but a pointed finger silenced her. She turned to the paint colors as ordered and a glare kept her from opening her mouth again unless it was about the house. Kim made sure to keep her in line while wondering why Shego was trying to run her off. Something was quite wrong and she really wondered what it was because Shego was acting weird—and had been for a while now that she started thinking about it.

"Um…Kimmie…are you sure you don't want to go out?" Shego asked quietly as they started going home, painting products in hand.

Kim smiled and surprised Shego with her response. "Yeah, I would like to go out."

"Oh…okay. Have fun with your friends," Shego replied.

"I want to go out with you!" Kim huffed, frowning a bit. "I want to spend time with you! I thought you wanted us to be together forever, but now you're pushing me away! You tell me before that you're scared I'm going to leave you and now you're doing this. You're driving me nuts with this!" She glared at her lover, causing the former villain to flinch.

Shego scratched her head. "I don't know what the hell is wrong with me. I don't want you to go, but I keep saying you should! It's crazy!"

They both looked at each other, not sure what to make about what was going on. Even as they went home, Shego continued to try to push Kim to go hang out by explaining that she could handle the house. Kim started to ignore her after a while, but she was very troubled by this because it just led her believe that something was wrong with Shego.

"If only I could figure out what was wrong…" the vampire muttered under her breath.

---------------

Next time: Kim and Shego go on a date to get back to normal, but only become more convinced something is wrong with Shego.


	2. Clouds

I don't own these characters; Disney does.

2: Clouds

"Okay, so let's get started on this bathroom thing!" Kim declared with a happy smile as she and her lover stood in their bathroom. She did not know where to start, even after reading the same book as Shego did. Once again, she learned much better from example and by doing than by reading, so she was going to follow Shego's lead.

"Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, usually, it's about this time when you tell me you're going to go see a movie with Monique or Tara or go hang out with your folks," Shego replied, her voice making it seem as if she was making suggestions as to where Kim should go spend her time. There was a fear in her eyes that Kim knew was there, waiting for her to take Shego up on one of those offers.

"Shego," Kim said in a stern voice, looking Shego directly in the eyes. "Tell me something, do you want me here?" she inquired quite seriously.

"Of course!" the green-skinned woman answered honestly.

"And I want to be here. Do you want to do this project together?" she asked, still maintaining eye contact. She noticed the fear and doubt seemed to slip away when she held Shego's gaze.

"Doy!" The characteristic answer got a small smile from the vampire.

"And after we do that, would you like to go to the movies with me?" she asked, throwing that in there while she had her mate going. She really wanted them to start going out more, like on regular dates since they could.

"I would love to," Shego replied. This got a bigger smile and a nod from the redhead.

"Now, that's more like it. God, I remember while we were with GJ, one of the things that you would always go on about was wanting to go into a movie theater again," the former hero pointed out.

Shego nodded. "I was so sick of watching the same old crap on our couch on that little TV. It sucked that sometimes. They didn't even want to get us the latest DVDs, but wouldn't let me go out and buy some! I hated them so much…" she growled from a rage that come with just thinking about those horrible bastards at GJ.

"I know, sweetheart, but now we're in charge of our own lives and we have to take advantage. I hate that we're drifting apart at a time when we should be together and happy. I hate to think that our relationship was just based on not having any other options."

"Of course not! I want to be with you," the older woman sincerely insisted.

"And I feel the same way, so let's just be together. Okay?"

There was another nod from the older female, earning her a very appreciative, affectionate hug. They got to work on the bathroom; Kim followed Shego's lead on most things or just handed Shego the necessary tools. They worked for a few hours before Kim was able to drag Shego away, wanting to go out to the movies. Shego was actually open to the idea and did not put up a real struggle, having fun pretending to be difficult.

"So, what should we see?" Kim wondered aloud as they approached the multiplex. Her arms were wrapped around Shego's waist, hugging the older woman to her like a giant teddy bear.

"I don't know. I haven't heard of any of these movies," Shego admitted. She had not turned on the television or computer since they left Global Justice, so she had no idea what was going on in the real world.

"I'll pick a good one then. I've heard about a few of them from Monique," Kim replied.

Shego shrugged. "Hey, it's your show."

Kim smiled and picked a movie that she thought would hold Shego's attention. They held hands in the dark movie theater like any other couple would and even exchanged a few kisses between fight scenes. Kim even used a few explosions as an excuse to clutch onto Shego's arm. By the time the movie was over, Kim was grinning from happiness; Shego was smiling, which for her was the same level as Kim's grin.

"That was great," the young vampire declared, making sure to keep her hand locked about her beloved's. It was pleasing that Shego did not even seem to think about letting go of her.

"It was. You know how to pick a movie, Pumpkin," Shego replied.

"I figured you'd enjoy a good action movie with real surround sound, but next movie we see has to be something I want to watch."

Shego chuckled a bit. "It's a deal, Princess."

The smile on Kim's face widened because Shego had just agreed to a next time. Even with that promise in the air, the vampire did not want the night to end. She tried to think of something that would keep them outside for a little while longer. She almost suggested that they go to a restaurant, but she did not eat regular food and Shego had already had her one meal for the day.

"Shego, what do you say we go for a walk in the park?" Kim suggested. It would be just like a normal date, like their night at the movies. She could not help smiling from the thought.

"That sounds good," Shego agreed with a smile of her own.

The redhead nodded, glad that her lover was so agreeable that night. She hoped that this evening would help push Shego to come out more and they could do more things together. Maybe they could even get a "date night," the vampire thought with a grin.

The couple strolled into the nearest park, which was a few blocks away. The park was quiet in the still of the night, but they heard every scurry of every nocturnal animal out—including the few people in the park. They took in the dark sky, clouds hiding the moon, but whispering peace into a gentle breeze. The silence extended between them, feeling like they did not need words for the moment. Holding each other's hands was enough, letting them know that they were still connected. Warmth and love flowed between the two of them, touching them more intensely than ever before.

Shego glanced down at their linked hands and then looked around where they were. Suddenly, her whole body relaxed and Kim noticed it, which put a small smile on her face. Shego needed to get out more and let go more often, obviously.

"We should do this more often," Kim dared to suggest.

"We should," Shego agreed in a low, light tone. She was not sure if it was the setting, the mood, the company, or a combination of all three, but she felt like a weight had been lifted off of her. She would not mind feeling that way more often.

They walked until they came to a large tree and Kim suddenly decided that she wanted to sit for a while. She dropped down and playfully pulled Shego along with her. They landed in a heap, giggling like giddy children. The giggles faded as they propped themselves against the tree and Kim rested her head on Shego's shoulder while putting Shego's hands in her lap.

"This is perfect," Kim sighed with a small smile. Olive eyes looked very content and her whole body relaxed.

"Don't say that, you'll jinx it," Shego teased.

"Oh, yeah? I pity the idiot that comes to mess up my perfect moment!" Kim declared with a cocky grin, earning a laugh from her beloved.

Shego nodded. "I'll back you up on that, not that you'll need any backup."

"Nope! I'd take out vampire and vampire hunter alike if anyone of them wants to come up to us now," the redhead proclaimed, climbing to her feet and showing off her pearl white fangs to the darkened park.

Shego laughed again and yanked her girlfriend back down to her. She then put one of her arms around Kim. "I think you scared 'em off, Kimmie. Good job!"

Kim could not help laughing too while internally celebrating. It seemed like Shego was getting her sense of humor back and having fun. She knew that all she needed to do was get Shego away from the lair for a little while and she would start behaving like her old self again. She just hoped that this lasted longer than before.

Shego pulled Kim closer to her as time pressed on and the vampire rested her head against Shego's shoulder. They did not speak, but they both felt like they were still in the perfect moment. Shego wondered why she had been fighting this for so long. Yes, she was nervous about Kim possibly leaving her one day, but she knew that the little anxiety should have gone away when she and Kim spoke on it. If anything, after they had that talk, she should have been all for going outside, having regular dates, and just lounging around with her favorite blood-drinker. Such things would only help their relationship, she knew that.

_Why the hell can't I just accept this?_ Shego was not sure of the answer to that question. Something in the back of her mind had tried to force her to dwell on the bad, but it seemed like it was gone now. She felt normal now, beyond normal actually.

"Hey, Kimmie," Shego said.

"Yeah?" the vampire replied as she lifted her head from its resting place.

"Just this." Shego leaned down and placed a gentle kiss to Kim's waiting lips.

Olive eyes widened from surprise for barely a second before Kim surrendered to the sweet bliss of the kiss. From the small show of affection, Kim got the feeling that the old Shego was back and was not afraid of anything, least of all losing her. She could feel the love and security that Shego always offered and the promise that Shego would always be there for her.

"Shego…" Kim whispered as the plasma-wielder eased away.

"Yeah?" Shego replied.

"_That_ was perfect."

A cocky grin overtook Shego's face. "Oh, I think I can do better than that."

"I was hoping you'd say that!" Kim commented as her face lit up with sheer delight.

The vampire moved, crawling into Shego's lap. The older woman smiled from the move and quickly changed position to accommodate the redhead better. Shego sat up a little more and her hands moved to Kim's hips. Kim straddled Shego's thighs, putting her arms around Shego's neck.

"If anybody's disturbs this moment, they'll wish I killed them," Kim remarked before leaning in for a scandalously deep kiss.

Before long, moans were coming from the couple, even though they were not sure which one of them was moaning. As they tongues danced and glided against each other, Shego's hands roamed the plane of Kim's back, pausing occasionally to clutch her lush ass. The groping caused Kim to groan while trying to pull Shego closer.

The redhead whimpered as Shego began to pull away. Kim was not ready to relent, sucking on Shego's lush lower lip while the older woman was trying to catch her breath. Deep moans escaped Shego's throat as Kim's hands caressed her chest, kneading her cloth-covered breasts.

"Kimmie…" Shego hissed as her eyes fluttered open. She was about to say something, but something in the distance caught her eye.

Several yards away Shego could feel a heated gaze on her and locked eyes with that person. Familiar blue eyes trapped her for a moment, keeping her attention from the action going on in her lap. Kim noticed that she lost Shego due to the total lack of movement. Kim growled, taking a long, wet nip out of Shego's chin while putting her hand Shego's chin, forcing the older woman to look at her.

"What's wrong?" Kim inquired.

Shego was silent for a second, like she did not hear that vampire. She then blinked and shook her head. Emerald eyes focused on concerned olive eyes.

"Sorry, blanked out there for a second, Princess. I think we should go home," Shego suggested.

Kim's face fell. "What? Why? We're having such a good time out here."

"Yeah, I know we are, but we're attracting an audience," Shego explained and she pointed out to where she saw the person watching them.

Kim turned, but only saw the blackness of the night. "Baby, there's nobody there."

Shego scratched her head in confusion. "There was. Whoever the hell it was stared right at me. It was a little too far to tell if it was a guy or woman, but they were looking at us. As much as I like you, Kimmie, I don't want to share you with the world right now."

Kim smiled. "I feel the same. Okay, let's go home. You do know I'm going to be on you as soon as that door shuts, right?"

"Not if I get you first."

The raw lust underneath the words caused Kim to shiver; she knew that she would not last a walk all of the way home. She cheated, teleporting them both to their bedroom. Before Shego even realized what was going on, Kim was tearing at her clothes. The black-haired woman did not object to any of it and actually let the vampire have her way with her.

---------------

Shego's head fell back onto the fluffy pillow while her body convulsed and her breathing came in pants. A rainbow of colors passed by her eyes for a few seconds. She could barely focus enough to feel Kim kissing her way back up Shego's body, coming to rest on the super-powered woman's chest. Pale green arms automatically went around Kim's waist. A satisfied smirk tugged on the vampire's lips.

"That was amazing," Kim commented in a breath. She then took a small lap at Shego's neck, dragging her tongue along a slightly visible vein. A purr escaped her throat as she tasted the salty flesh of her lover.

"Yeah. It hasn't been like that for a while," Shego said in between pants.

"No, it hasn't. It made me realize…you haven't been as into it…" Kim said, glancing away for a moment. "Was I doing something wrong?" Olive eyes locked with emerald and begged to know if she had been doing something wrong or badly.

"What? No! You're a regular little sex kitten and you're way good at what you do," Shego assured her lover.

"Then what is it?" Kim asked, brow wrinkled in confusion.

The plasma-wielder took a moment to think about it. "I'm not totally sure. It's almost like I've been in a fog, even when we made love. It's like my mind hasn't been here completely and I only just realized it because I do remember when getting busy felt like this all the time."

Kim nodded. "Back when we first escaped GJ."

"And after we met with the crazy alchemist. It was wild, but deep. I mean, the passion was through the roof, but it always seemed like we were touching each other's souls while we were going at it," Shego recalled, running her hands up and down her lover's back.

"Yeah," Kim said wistfully, thinking back to their lives before they moved into the lair. Shego was much more active in bed, she realized. "Do you think maybe it's this place that's bothering you? Maybe you're thinking about the life you left behind for me?" she asked, sorrow clouding her voice and eyes.

"Hell, no! Kimmie, everything I did for you, I would do again!" Shego proclaimed and then she took a moment to think. "Well, not everything. I damn sure wouldn't take you to GJ again. But, other than that, I would do everything the same."

"Something has to be wrong, though. I mean, you said that you've been in a fog, so what's the reason for it? You were fine before we came here, so it has to be this place. Unless you have a problem with the town point blank. Does it bother you that I'm close to my parents?"

Shego shook her head. "No, it doesn't bother me. Yes, I was nervous when we first got here, but I was happy when I saw you with your family. Yes, I thought you'd leave me for them, but I totally believe you when you say that you and me will be together forever. I don't know what the hell is wrong, though." A green hand came up to massage her forehead for a second before putting her hand back on Kim's back.

"Does it still feel like something's wrong?" the vampire asked curiously. For the first time in a while, Shego felt absolutely normal to her.

"Everything feels fine right now. I was a little foggy in the park, but that was only a second. I think it was when I saw that person staring at us."

"Shego, nobody was there. I would've noticed. I think you might have imagined someone staring at us because you were a little foggy."

Shego nodded, conceding that point. "I guess. Damn it, I'll kick that alchemist's ass if this is because of that Philosopher's Stone crap he made me drink!" she huffed.

"Hey, hey," Kim cooed and caressed Shego's side to keep her calm. "I wouldn't call that crap. It's got my cravings under control and let's me go out into the sun. It's enhanced your powers and senses. And I have to say, I think it was changing your skin a little when we first took it."

Shego blinked. "What do you mean?"

"It looks like the green was fading, but it's stopped recently."

"Really?" Shego brought her hand up to look at it, examine it. It looked like the same hand she had seen since the comet impact. "I was…going back to normal…?"

"I think you were, but it stopped," Kim replied. "Sorry, sweetheart."

Shego was quiet for a while, just staring at her hand. Kim felt her heart breaking for her girlfriend, seeing in emerald eyes how much Shego longed for her old skin tone again. Kim reached out and took Shego's hand in her own.

"Want to talk about it?" the vampire asked in a whisper.

"You know, when I first changed, I felt like a monster. I mean, while my brothers changed too, me and Mego seemed to get it the worse. People stared at us, a lot. They'd ask him if he was going to a costume party and they'd ask me if I was sick. I hated it. Hated going outside for a while, hated looking like a freak, hated that it was like I had it so much worse than Hego and the twins. Sometimes, me and Mego would look at each other and I knew he was thinking the same thing as I was, like something was really wrong with us. I learned to live with it, even use it to my advantage and never let anyone know what I was thinking. I acted sexy, but there were times that I never felt it."

Kim swallowed, pushing down a lump in her throat. "Do you still feel like that? Because I really do think you're damn sexy," she commented and punctuate her statement, she kissed Shego's throat again.

A smile formed on Shego's face and she ran her fingers through the orange-red hair tickling her skin. "I never doubt that. You make me feel sexy, Princess. I think…well, I just would like to have something of me back."

"I know what you mean," Kim replied. She was happy that she was able to go in the sun again. Sure, it might seem like a small thing to most people and she had adjusted to not being able to go out until dark, but when the sun was given back to her, it was like a deep blessing. She had a feeling that the same would happen to Shego if she got her skin tone back. She wondered why Shego's skin stopped changing, though.

"I know you do."

"This actually just makes me worry about you more. One second you're in a haze, the next you're out. You can't control what you believe anymore. Your mouth is saying things that you said you don't believe in the first place," Kim pointed out.

"It is weird. I don't know what to do," Shego said.

"Do you think you'd be all right with Wade scanning you? He can do it from his room, so he doesn't have to come here or anything. If anything, it'll rule out something being physically wrong with you," the redhead suggested.

Shego thought on it for less than a second. "I think that'd be a good idea. I also think we need to talk to him about helping beef up security."

Kim narrowed her gaze. "Why'd you say that? This was something you were only happy to take care of yourself not to long ago. Is this more to do with this fog?"

"No, Princess, I'm totally clear right now. I want to make sure you'll be safe if something is wrong with me."

Kim snarled. "Don't talk like that! We're going to be together forever!" she proclaimed heatedly, as if she had the power to make that so and she was insulted that Shego would imply otherwise.

Shego met Kim's fury with her own stony resolve while aware that any other person faced with a furious Kim would have been sweating bullets already. The flash of blood red that ripped through Kim's eyes let Shego know the depth of Kim's outrage with the idea that something could be wrong with her, but it did not change the hard look in emerald eyes. She caressed Kim's lower back, but did not change her expression.

"Kimmie, we have to be realistic. There could be something seriously wrong with me because this fog shit isn't something totally out of the blue from what I can tell. It's not like it happened just today and I've been totally fine before that. It comes and it goes, really messing me up a lot of the time. We've got to be careful. A lot people want us both dead and we don't want to give them a chance to make that happen," Shego reminded her lover.

The vampire's expression did not change. "We'd never let anything happen to each other," she said in a dead-set tone.

"We'd _try_. Let's be realistic, Princess. We need to cover our bases if something's wrong with me. We both know I haven't been acting right lately and I know something is going on in my head that has been contradicting things I know should be true. Sounds almost like…" Shego trailed off and frowned.

As if reading her mind, Kim knew just what Shego was thinking. "Who'd be able to mind-control you?"

"Fuck if I know. We haven't been around anybody, except your family, since we left the alchemist. I figured if it was GJ, they would've done it sooner. Hell, Director could've done something to me when she saved our asses."

Kim nodded. "I don't think she did. She was really helping us there and not doing something because of orders."

Shego shrugged. "Then I'm out of ideas. Unless it's that sneaky fucking alchemist."

"He seemed fair too. We made a fair trade and he seemed to be happy with it. I don't see why he would mind-control you. You know what, we shouldn't jump to any conclusions until we have Wade run a scan on you."

"Maybe we should go with something more thorough than whatever scan he can do from his room."

"You're willing to have him in our home? I mean, you've been so cautious," Kim pointed out.

"I'm willing to do a lot to make sure I can stay with you, Pumpkin. If he needs to cut me fucking open, I'd be willing to do it."

"I don't think we'll need to go that far. If he doesn't find anything, we'll set something up with Mom and have her do a cat scan and everything on your head."

Shego nodded in agreement. "If this is more GJ bullshit…" she growled. Kim matched the noise with a snarl of her own. They were both having the same feelings; if GJ had done something to Shego, the organization was on borrowed time.

---------------

"Well, Kim, I don't see anything wrong with Shego on my monitors," Wade informed the couple. They had freshened up after catching a nap and called Wade right after. He had not been with happy about being woken up, but he knew that the couple sometimes confused hours since they were not on a set schedule like most other people. He forgave them when they explained the situation and he could see the worry in their eyes and hear the urgency in their voices.

"This doesn't make any sense. Are you sure you can't do a more thorough search if you come here?" Kim asked, speaking into a computer monitor in front of a large console, a remnant of when Drakken owned the lair. When they requested that Wade scan Shego, he readily agreed and told them that he could do an intense scan from the comfort of his bed, which was good because he did not plan on leaving that bed for a few more hours.

"The scan would be the same if I was in the room or in Moscow. There's nothing wrong with Shego," Wade insisted.

"There has to be something! We think I might be getting a little mind-control, so make with the genius and find something!" Shego snapped. She was standing next to Kim with her arms folded across her chest.

"I'm not getting anything from this end. Basically, there's nothing sending out a signal on you or even an unnatural bio-pattern in your body. I give you a clean bill of health, Shego. I don't know what's wrong or why you keep getting this fog, as you call it," Wade answered honestly. "Do you think it might be something…you know…really wrong with you?" he asked. It was possible that she had a real health problem that he missed and she needed to get to a doctor.

"We've considered it, so I guess my next trip will be to see Kimmie's mom," Shego answered.

Wade nodded. "Smart choice. If Kim still had her Kimmunicator, I could've done a tissue scan to help narrow that down, but I'm guessing that was lost to time."

"Oh, speaking of that, I think you should make a couple of those again. Keep in touch in case Kim needs help," Shego suggested.

"In case _I_ need help?" Kim growled, turning her attention to her lover.

"Yes, in case _you_ need help. We don't know what the hell is wrong with me," Shego started up and then paused. "Wait, we've had this argument already." She focused back on Wade. "Make the Kimmunicator…" She glanced at the vampire. "Just in case."

"Okay. Anything else?" he asked, sensing there was more to this than they were telling.

"Yeah," Shego said and glanced at her lover again.

"Shego wants you to do the security for this place. I think she did a good job on her own, but she wants you to go over it and improve it," Kim informed her friend.

"I'll do a scan and then try to map out what I might want to add, but considering the fact that you guys are seriously not on the map—any map—I'm sure it'll be fine," Wade replied.

"Let us know when you do," Kim said in a clipped tone and turned off the monitor before Wade even got a chance to say farewell. Her mind was not on Wade, but on Shego and everything else was secondary. "Why are you doing this to me?" she demanded, throwing her hands up.

"Because I want you to be safe if something is wrong with me! You can't just pretend I'm fine when we both know I've been acting like a fucking nut for a while!" Shego riposted, folding her hands over her chest and cocking her hip out to the right.

Kim's upper lip twitched, like she was itching to say something, but her mouth remained shut. Shego walked over to the vampire and took her into a warm embrace. Kim sighed and gave herself over to the show of affection, silently surrendering to the older woman.

"Tell me we'll be fine. If you tell me it'll be fine, I'll believe it. I always believe you," Kim implored her lover.

"Everything will be fine," Shego promised.

Kim nodded. "Okay, I believe you. Do you still want to see my mom?"

"I think it would be a good idea. We'll call her later. We don't want her to be grumpy like Wade," Shego teased.

Kim snickered, but she agreed with that. To kill time, Kim decided to contact Ron, just to check up on him. He had returned to Japan a couple of days ago, but she wanted to make sure everything was fine with him. She also wanted to just chat with him like they used to, feeling it would help keep her grounded and not worried about her lover.

Shego decided to go relax, flopping down into her favorite chair and picking up her favorite book, which was right next to the chair. She did not even get to read one word before an odd knocking sound caught her attention. It was like someone was knocking on the door, which made no sense to her.

"No one knows we're here, except Ron, and his silly ass wouldn't bother to knock," Shego muttered as she climbed to her feet. "Not to mention he's in Japan right now and Kim's talking to him to prove it."

She went to what amounted to a side door if they only lived in a normal house. Flinging the door open without fear put Shego face to face with familiar, haunting blue eyes. She flinched as if a jolt ran through her body.

"What can I do for you?" Shego asked politely. She put a hand to her temples and shook her head a little while massaging her temple.

"I would like for you to send Kim outside soon and leave her to me." As courteous as the tone was, it was clear this was a command.

A snarl tugged at Shego's lips and she was ready to tell this blood-red-headed bitch where to go and what to do when she got there. Her mouth did not agree, though. "I can do that," she found herself answering.

"Good. I expect Kim to be by my side by noon." With that command, the redhead walked away and Shego shut the door.

"Kimmie…" Shego called.

---------------

Next time: Shego is back to acting weird, but Kim thinks she knows who is behind it.


	3. Smoky

I don't own these characters; Disney does. I don't own Carmilla either, but I can't think of the name of the author that does.

3: Smoky

"Kimmie!" Shego called out, walking from where she was lounging in the lair to where Kim was using the computer to talk with Ron. Her voice sounded casual, so her lover was not concerned with her as she approached.

"Yes, Shego?" Kim replied, disconnecting from speaking with her best friend at that moment.

Shego came into the room as the screen went black. The vampire turned to look at her lover, but did not really look right at Shego's face. Shego stopped a few feet from Kim while Kim yawned and stretched out.

"I was thinking that maybe I should start working on the floor while we wait for a good time to talk to your mom," the former thief proposed in her normal tone.

Kim nodded. "That sounds good. You want some help?"

The pale woman shook her head slightly to decline. "No, no, no. I'm good."

Kim blinked in surprise and focused on Shego, studying her very hard. The older woman looked back, staring at Kim as if something was wrong with her. Oddly enough, Shego was the one that blinked. She shook her head, as if clearing her mind. The vampire got up and walked over to her mate, putting her hands on Shego's hips.

"Are you sure about that?" Kim inquired curiously, tilting her head to the side a little.

"Uh…" Shego shook her head again and then stared down into the olive eyes watching her. "What did I even just say?" she asked curiously, quite serious though. Her eyes seemed to be searching for some answer that Kim did not have.

"You were going to start on the floor and you didn't need my help. It was like you were trying to get rid of me," Kim noted, concern wrinkling her forehead and worry working into her eyes.

"I think…" Shego rubbed her forehead, eyes drifting to the floor now. "…I think I was…" she admitted.

"You were what? You were trying to get rid of me?" Kim asked in a gentle tone, noting her lover's confusion. She had a feeling it was not really Shego's intention to get rid of her, even if that was what the older woman was trying to do. This had to do with whatever was going on with Shego and why she needed to have a full examination.

Shego nodded. "I think so."

"Why are you trying to get rid of me?"

A green hand rubbed a furrowed forehead. "I…I don't know…"

The redhead put her hand to Shego's forehead, as if she was feeling for a fever. Shego stood still, hoping that Kim did find something, so they could get it fixed. Kim removed her hand when Shego's forehead provided no answers, but she lifted Shego's head enough for the pale woman to look her in the eye.

"Baby, are you okay? Did something happen?" Kim inquired, scanning emerald orbs for some sign of trouble.

"I don't know." Shego paused, her eyes slowly moved all over the place, avoiding Kim's. Kim snapped her fingers to get her girlfriend's attention. Shego blinked hard and focused again, turning her attention back to her lover. "I don't know if something happened. One second I'm chilling like I used to and then the next I had this urge to just do the floor and let you go out to do whatever it is you do, like hang out with Carmilla or something," the older woman explained.

"Well, right now, the only thing I want to do is find out what's wrong with you. I wonder if Wade missed something," Kim replied in a bit of a panic, running her hands up and down Shego's body, feeling for something, anything! She _needed_ to find out what was wrong with Shego as soon as possible to help her soul-mate.

"You know, we went right to Wade, but I could easily just up my body temperature and burn anything that doesn't belong to me," Shego pointed out, as if the idea just came to mind.

"Do that now," Kim ordered, backing away. She wanted her lover back in all of her glory as soon as possible, so she was willing to try just about anything.

Shego nodded and she went about increasing her body temperature. It was a trick that she had perfected from their time at GJ and she used to burn off bugs every now and then. She would do it slowly, just so that GJ would not get a clue that she could do it at all, but it took a lot of control. Right now, she just rose it as quickly as she could and as much as she could, wanting to get rid of any foreign object that might be on her person.

"How do you feel now?" Kim asked after a few seconds.

"The same. I still don't know why the hell I was trying to get rid of you! I don't know why the hell I didn't want to just laze around until we could go to your mother! I don't know what the hell is wrong with me!" Shego hollered in frustration, throwing her hands up in defeat. She turned around, showing Kim her back, but the vampire was not in favor of that move. She easily turned the older woman right back around.

"Calm down!" Kim huffed, throwing her arms around Shego to keep her from bugging out any further. "Calm down, sweetheart. We'll figure this out. We'll go to my mom and we'll see what she has to say about this."

A slow nod was Shego's response. She took a few deep breaths to ease her nerves and embraced her lover to calm her down even more. Locked in a loving hug, they rubbed each other's backs and that settled everything, soothing them enough to think straight.

"Okay, so what time does your mom get up anyway?" Shego asked.

"A couple more hours. Let's just sit together and hang out," Kim proposed in gentle voice.

It sounded like a good idea, so they went to a lounge chair and just sat together. Having to get comfortable, they adjusted until Kim was half-lying on Shego, pressed into the older woman's side. They read to each other for a while and then just cuddled quietly together. Shego fell asleep for a while with Kim stroking her side and her own hand automatically going through red locks, even when she slept. When it was time, the redhead made a call to her mother and Ann was able to fit Shego into her schedule if the couple could meet her at the hospital. It was agreed since Kim could get them there in a flash.

"I hope this gets us somewhere," Shego sighed.

"I'm sure it will. My mom is one of the top neurosurgeons in the world," Kim boasted with a proud twinkle in her eyes.

The former thief made a mocking face to tease Kim, who responded with using her teleportation powers at that very moment to get them to the hospital. They touched down in a hidden alleyway; Shego was left a bit disoriented from the surprise trip. She wobbled around on shaky for a few seconds.

"Kimmie, you gotta warn me when you're gonna do stuff like that," Shego complained with a groan. She held her stomach as if she was about to throw up, but she managed to keep it inside.

"Where's the fun in that? It'll teach you to make fun of me," the vampire taunted her dizzy lover.

Shego shook her head. "You just wait until I'm all right in the head, you're going to get it," she mock-threatened the redhead, shaking her fist at the former hero.

Kim waved her off. "Promises, promises. I can still take you, even when you're at the top of your game."

Shego rolled her eyes and scoffed while standing up right. The couple entered the hospital, not gathering too much attention. Stopping a pair of nurses to ask Doctor Possible's exact location, they were able to go right to Ann, who was ready to see Shego immediately. The ebony-haired woman was prepared for her scan and placed in the machine. Ann allowed Kim in the room as she observed what was going on in Shego's head.

"Do you see anything?" Kim asked anxiously, bouncing on the balls of her feet behind her mother.

Ann glanced back at her daughter before answering with a shake of her head. "From what I can tell, Shego's brain is perfectly healthy. It's one of the best I've ever looked at."

The younger redhead grimaced. "That doesn't sound right. Mom, Shego's been acting really weird lately. Now, if she's not being controlled by some machine, it's got to be something in her head."

Ann shook her head again. "I'm not seeing any evidence of that. I'm seeing a perfectly healthy brain. No signs of illness whatsoever and normal patterns where they should be," she gently insisted, knowing that Shego's health was a touchy subject for her daughter thanks to the frantic phone call she received earlier.

"But…" Kim's eyes dropped for a moment and searched the floor, helping her gather her thoughts. "She's been acting very weird, Mom. I mean really weird. She's worried about things that we've already talked about. She's been trying to push me away, even though she almost cried when thinking I was going to leave her. She doesn't know why she's acting like this and it's really driving us both crazy. We figured that it was some kind of mind-control getting her to act so strangely. Wade already scanned her for any non-biological material and she was able to raise her body to temp enough to destroy anything that might not belong in her system, but she says that she still feels a little foggy in her head. It has to be something. You have to see something!" the vampire pled, near tears at the thought of something being wrong with her lover and no one catching it until it was too late.

"Kimmie…" Ann sighed, standing up to look at her child directly. "I know how much Shego means to you and I know that's why you're pressing this, but I am telling you, there is nothing wrong with Shego's head. Do you think that maybe you guys are blowing this out of portion?" she asked, maintaining a tender tone. She placed her hand on Kim's shoulder to show her support.

"I don't know, Mom. Shego's acting really weird. I mean, yes, before I just took it as jitters because this is our first time together while being free. We both acted a little weird, but we talked about it and everything seemed fine from there, but only for a little while. After a few days, Shego went back to being a little irrational about our relationship, scared I would leave, but trying to push me away. She can't explain her behavior, saying she isn't doing it on purpose. I believe her," Kim insisted.

"I know you do, sweetie. I believe Shego too, but maybe you two are expecting results from your talk too quickly. Rationally, she knows there's nothing to be afraid of in losing you, but it might take a little while for her emotions to fully believe it. It's not that your talk to didn't mean anything or that she's being brainwashed. It might just take a while for her emotions to fully understand what her brain already knows," Ann reasoned.

Kim nodded. "But, that doesn't explain her irrational behavior, trying to send me away. She said she's not doing it on purpose."

Putting a finger to her chin, the doctor thought about it for a moment. "I'm not too sure about that. Maybe it's not what it seems and neither of you know what to make of it. Or maybe you take it as pushing you away and present it that way to Shego. Subconsciously, she might be looking for something else, but if you present it to her as pushing you away, she'll take it as that and then lose her reasoning for why she was doing it because she never really had in the first place."

A slow grimace worked its way through Kim's face. "That sounded like a lot of psycho-babble, Mom."

"It's the best I can do, sweetheart. Like I said, physically, there's nothing wrong with her or her brain," Ann replied. "And we should probably get her out of the scan before she gets cranky."

"You know her well, Mom," Kim commented with a smile.

"Well, I'd like to think I know my own daughter-in-law," Ann boasted.

That statement paused Kim for a while, realizing that her mother was right. Shego was practically Ann's daughter-in-law and it was great that her mother recognized that, accepted it. It made Kim feel light on the inside, pushing away the darkness of whatever was going on with Shego for a few moments. The moment passed as soon as Shego stood next to her, reminding her that either something was wrong or they were overreacting. Even though it might make them look bad, she desperately hoped that it was the latter.

Ann told Shego exactly what she told Kim, beyond the fact that Shego had a totally healthy brain. She also went into what she thought might be wrong with Shego. The ebony-haired fugitive did not appear moved by the end of it.

"This isn't all a misunderstanding or feelings needing to play catch up, doc. Something is wrong here, but I don't know what," Shego stated, tapping on her temple.

"Maybe you're right, but the scans don't show any anomalies whatsoever," Ann replied.

"Well, that should be something in itself! How can I have a totally normal brain when I don't even have a totally normal body!" Shego insisted. Kim nodded, agreeing with that logic.

"Shego, I have taken into consideration your condition. From what I understand about your powers—thanks to Kimmie telling me—your brain does exactly what I would expect it to do. It is perfectly healthy. There's no bruising or anything like that. No chemical imbalance or abnormal activity. I know certain areas in your brain are more active or less active than others because of your powers. But, like I said, I didn't see anything that I didn't expect to see from someone like you. In fact, some of the things that did shock me was just how healthy your brain was. It doesn't seem that you have any side effects or anything from your powers. In short, you're fine and your brain is fine," the doctor reported.

"That doesn't make any sense! Mom, there is something wrong with Shego," Kim insisted, putting her arm around her lover. Shego did the same.

"I'm sure you two think there's something wrong with her, but I can't tell you what on my end. Why don't you girls give things a few more days to calm down and then we can do another scan? Maybe something will show up then," Ann proposed, hoping that would sooth their nerves.

"Mom, who knows what could happen in a few days!" Kim objected.

"Well, I can't do anything about what isn't there," Ann countered.

The couple could not argue that, but they were sure that everything with Shego was not fine. Unfortunately, they could not prove that right now, so they did not have much to stand on. Besides, it was like Ann said, she could not do anything if according to her instruments everything was fine.

"I really think that you two should give it a few days and I'm sure you'll be fine. Spend a little time together just relaxing and I'm sure everything will smooth out for you two. You probably just need to get used to each other and being out in the real world together," Ann explained. It sounded logical to her.

"But, we already talked about it," Kim argued.

Nodding in understanding, the doctor went on. "Talking about it might not be enough for your emotions. You both have to give your emotions time to settle. You've uprooted yourself from a familiar environment to some place unfamiliar with more going on around you and you're also trying to settle back into the real world. It's a lot of change going on in your lives at once. You shouldn't panic so quickly, even if you feel like you have cause to. Just take it easy for a little while."

Shego sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "It's not so easy to take it easy…"

"I think that's what you two really need to do. Go on a few dates, just enjoy being around each other and being able to stretch your arms out in the open air," Ann urged them, smiling a little as she spoke. She had a feeling that they were expecting things to come together way too fast for them. They needed to take the time to get reacquainted with each other and that would ease their tensions.

"We've tried that…" Kim muttered.

"Okay, you've tried one date and tell me, did you two enjoy yourselves?" the doctor asked, a little smirk tugging at her lips because she suspected they thoroughly enjoyed themselves, especially since Kim called her to tell her all about it.

"Of course!" the couple answered.

"Then do it again. One date isn't going to fix everything. You have to get used to your new surroundings and freedom. I'm sure once you guys get a routine going, you'll feel more at ease and be fine. You just need to get comfortable first," Ann assured them.

The duo nodded; what the doctor was saying made sense. Accepting the advice, they left Ann to her work and figured that they would get to right to going out on a date. Starting out just going for a quiet walk, they ended up at the movie theater. Having very good recent memories of the place, they went in for whatever movie was playing at the time.

In the movie, Shego and Kim sat next to each other. As soon as they were settled in, Kim leaned against her lover and Shego put her arm around the younger woman. When the movie started, Shego knew that she would be bored—it was a romantic comedy. Chick flicks never really appealed to Shego, who like the anarchy of action movies with lots of explosions. But, Kim enjoyed the film.

Instead of complaining in any form, Shego busied herself by running her fingers through her girlfriend's hair. Every few minutes, soft kisses touched the tempting orange-red locks. Pale hands caressed Kim's back and legs every now and then, working Kim to the point that she was purring in a very low voice.

"That was a great movie…" Shego sighed as the credits started to roll and she rose to her feet, taking her girlfriend with her.

Kim burst out laughing. "You didn't even see any of it!"

"I saw what I wanted to see and it gave me a chance to get close to my favorite vamp," the older woman remarked, placing a hand on the small of Kim's back. The hand drifted slightly southward, but remained on the back.

"Sweet talker," Kim retorted with a smile, putting her arms around her lover's waist.

They continued on their date, going so far as to ending the night on the town at a restaurant, even though Kim did not eat "human" food and Shego no longer needed much more than an apple to get her through the day. Still, it was nice to have a normal day without having to worry about anything.

They both ordered their favorites, from the appetizers to the main course to dessert. They laughed all the way through dinner, talking about everything from the "good ole days" to speculating what happened to many of the villains that Kim used to tangle with.

"I am willing to bet you any amount of sexual favors that DNAmy is still a gorilla and probably has a troop of monkeys by Monty," Shego stated with a wide grin, tapping the table to emphasis her view.

"You need to bet sexual favors on something I can win!" Kim chuckled.

"I never make a bet that I can't win," Shego boasted with a cocky grin.

Kim laughed again, but she rolled her eyes. "So you say. I'm sure you'll put your foot in your mouth sooner or later."

Suddenly, a smoky look clouded Shego's eyes and she reached across the table, taking Kim's hand. "I'd rather put other things in my mouth sooner or later."

The vampire did not any other motivation to get them the hell out of the restaurant. Shego paid the check and Kim teleported them back to their home. The rest of their day was filled with grunting, growling, and passionate screams.

---------------

"You know, maybe Mom was right," Kim commented. She and Shego were lounging on their sofa, watching the computer monitor—it doubled as their television for the moment—and enjoying a movie.

"I guess we did just need a few days of relaxing. I do feel a lot better," Shego replied, pulling the vampire a little closer to her. She was lying on her side and Kim was resting in front of her.

"You look a lot better," Kim replied, putting her hand on Shego's hand. She held the hands up for Shego to see them. Bright green eyes focused on the appendages carefully, knowing that there was something Kim wanted her to see. Slowly, a smile formed on Shego's face.

"The green…" Shego muttered.

"It's fading a little," Kim said. It was true, Shego's hand was just a little less green and a little more cream than before.

"What do you think…I mean, why do you think it's happening?" the older woman asked, awe seasoning her voice.

"I'm not too sure. There could be any number of reasons for it. It could be simply that you've been going outside a lot more, into the sun and fresh air. It could be that you're more relaxed than you have been for a while. It could be—dare I say—because you've been much happier these past few days. It could be one or all of those facts."

Shego smiled more and nuzzled Kim's neck. "I am much happier now than I was a few days ago. I hope we stay like this."

"Me too."

Focus went back to the movie…for the most part anyway. Shego's eyes drifted to her hands and arms whenever they could. She was wearing a sleeveless shirt, so she could see that the change in her coloring went all the way up to her shoulder. She was not sure what was bringing back her former skin tone, but she hoped like hell that did not stop this time around.

By the end of the movie, Kim was sleeping, face buried in Shego's cleavage. Shego was close to passing out, but hanging on because she liked watching Kim sleep. The vampire was an odd sight to behold when she was napping, especially considering where her face was. She shifted her head to the side every few minutes. She would bare her fangs along the swell of Shego's breast, sometimes going so far as to move in for a bite. The fangs never pierced Shego's flesh, but it was always very close. When she was not mock-biting, Kim's tongue often sneaked out of her mouth, only to lick her lip and retreat back into her mouth.

Pale hands wandered Kim's sleeping form, caressing much of the bare skin that was within Shego's reach. The redhead snuggled in deeper to her haven, muttering nonsense in her sleep and moving her lips across Shego's breast. Shego laughed a little, feeling tickled by this new movement. She was content to just lie there until Kim woke up, but something stirred her from this contented place mentally.

Shego shook her head, trying to dispel this feeling. "What the hell?" she muttered aloud.

"Shego, get up from the couch," a voice that seemed distant, but close at the same time whispered to her.

The plasma-wielder shook her head again. "I must be loopy…"

"Shego, get up from the couch," the voice replied in a seductive whisper.

Shego looked around, wanting to see if she was alone. _Maybe the place is haunted_. Thinking there might be ghosts was a more appealing option than considering that she was hearing voice in her head. A flinch tore through Shego's face when she saw that her first guess and second guess might not be far off as she was staring at a glowing, ethereal figure at the end of the room. So, she was either crazy or the lair was haunted.

The figure at the end of the room was clearly a woman with blood red hair and beckoning blue eyes. She silently called Shego to her feet with a movement of her finger. Shego obeyed without thought and slowly approached the individual. A hand held up halted her two yards from the figure. Shego stared at the woman with a blank gaze in her eyes.

"Shego, I thought we had an agreement. I want my Kimmie, so you need to leave her for me. We agreed on this," the figure said.

"But…I want Kimmie…" Shego answered, sounding child-like.

Blue eyes narrowed, as if locking onto a target. "Kim is mine, Shego. She will stay with me forever. You will give her to me now!" An elegant finger pointed at the ground to emphasize her declaration.

"But…"

"Now!" The force in those electric blue eyes seemed like they could have ripped the heavens apart. Shego stared like a mouse captured by a snake.

"I will…give you…Kimmie…" Shego promised in a low tone.

"You have until tonight, Shego. Tell Kim that you're busy and she should go to the park. I'll be waiting for her. If I don't get Kim by then, you will regret it," the figure vowed with a snarl, revealing sharp canine teeth. "Kim is mine, so you better deliver her to me."

Shego nodded to show that she understood. The figure then vanished in a puff of white smoke, which seemed to be blown away by a breeze that was not there. Shego marched back to the couch and sat down, not bothering to put Kim anywhere near her now. After a few minutes of sleeping, but not being on Shego, the vampire woke, rubbing her eye and smacking her lips together.

"That was a good nap," Kim muttered and then she yawned.

"That's good…" Shego said in a dead voice.

Immediately sensing that something was wrong, Kim turned her attention to her lover. She stared deeply into blank emerald eyes. Her own gaze narrowed and she took hold of Shego's shoulders. She turned the older woman to face her.

"Shego, what's wrong? What happened?" Kim demanded to know, staring her girlfriend down.

"Kimmie…" Shego started to speak.

"Yes, sweetheart? What is it?" the redhead begged to know.

"Kimmie, you should go," Shego stated in a deadpan tone.

"I should go?"

"Yeah, you should go. You should go hang out with Carmilla," Shego suggested. There was still no feeling in her voice whatsoever.

"I should go hang out with Carmilla? Shego, you hate Carmilla!" Kim reminded her girlfriend, clutching Shego's shoulders just a little tighter. "Shego, look at me! You hate Carmilla!" _Why would Shego want me to go hang out with someone she hates? Why is she acting so crazy?_

Shego blinked, her eyes cleared and she looked focused. "I…hate…Carmilla…" she recalled, sounding sure, even though she spoke slowly. And just like that the moment of clarity was gone. "No, I don't hate her. You should be with her, Kimmie. She's your friend."

"My friend that you think is a vampire, remember? A vampire I should stay away from because you don't trust her! Why would you want me to hang out with her?" Kim demanded to know. She knew this was not Shego talking; this was definitely something altogether new. "Shego, honey, tell me, is someone controlling you?"

Shego shook her head. "Of course not, Princess. I just think you should be with Carmilla because you're friends. I'll find something to do while you go hang out with her."

"Shego, who did this to you? Who's making you say those things?!"

"I'll be fine, Kimmie, but you should go to the park or something. I know you'll have fun outside."

"Then come with me," Kim suggested. She would go to the park and then maybe find who was screwing around with Shego's mind, but she wanted Shego by her side for it.

The plasma-wielder shook her head. "No, sorry, I don't want to go outside. I want to work on the house some more. You'll have fun outside with Carmilla."

Kim arched an eyebrow. "There's definitely a theme here," she muttered. "Shego, did Carmilla tell you to say these things?" _And if she did, when?_

Shego shook her head and blinked, like she was trying to fight off whatever was going on in her head. "…A redhead…blue eyes…" she struggled to say before the same spacey stare returned to her eyes.

Kim growled, sounding like an angry wolf. "Carmilla…" Olive green eyes were drowned in the color of blood and pearly white fangs shot out of pink lips. Heaven help Carmilla if she was the one behind this.

---------------

Next time: the conclusion.


	4. Clear

I don't own these characters; Disney does. I also don't own Carmilla; she is owned by Joseph Sherdian le Fanu. Thank you Immortal7 for telling me the author's name.

4: Clear

Kim tore herself from the sofa; Shego barely moved, even though Kim had been embracing her. The air around the vampire became thick and hot, almost on fire, popping with explosive energy. Olive green eyes were flooded with crimson blotches, taking over any sign of white in her eyes. Her hands flexed like tense talons, and her nails seemed to be razor sharp, begging for blood. Throwing her head back, she roared loudly, showing off long fangs—it was a wonder how such things even fit in her mouth—and two lines of pointed teeth. The sight would have sent any predator fleeing in terror. As she brought her head back and closed her mouth, her fangs shrank a little and her other teeth went back to normal.

Rage filled her, but Kim had the presence of mind to turn back to her beloved. Shego sat there like a lifeless doll, staring into space and oblivious to the vengeful anger pouring off of the vampire. Kim snorted and took her lover by the shoulders, shaking her for some sign of life. Suddenly, Shego turned to her.

"Kimmie, why the hell are you shaking me?!" Shego demanded with an annoyed expression on her face.

"Shego, are you all right now?" Kim countered, concern in her voice.

"I'm fine. Why are you shaking me? I thought you were going out," the ebony-haired woman replied.

A growl worked its way out of Kim's throat as she removed her hands from her lover, body shaking now from her fury. Obviously, Shego was not all right. _What the hell is going on?! _The vampire took a deep breath, wanting to calm herself down a little, just to deal with Shego as properly as she could.

"Shego, baby, look at me," Kim pled. Shego did as requested, focusing on olive green eyes.

"What? I thought you were leaving. Didn't you want to go outside?" Shego asked curiously. "I'm almost sure that's what was happening."

"No, sweetheart, you were practically kicking me out. Why?" Kim begged to know. "Do you feel like you're in one of your fogs? Or maybe coming out of a fog? It seems like you're half here and half somewhere else."

Shego shut her eyes tightly and rubbed her temples with both hands. Kim took hold of the moving hands to still them and then cupped Shego's face. Emerald eyes opened again, looking blank once more.

"Baby, I need you to focus! Why do you think I was going outside?" Kim inquired, face imploring Shego to stay with her for just a few more moments, so she could get a better understanding of what was going on.

"Because it seemed like that was what you were doing, like you were going to go outside and hang out with Carmilla. I don't remember you saying it, but it seems like you would be doing it," Shego explained as best she could. "Like it was logical."

Kim shook her head. "No, nothing about this is logical. It doesn't make any sense at all. Do you remember what might have put that thought in your head?"

"I…" Shego rubbed her forehead, eyes drifting, attempting to look at the floor. The vampire growled a little and turned Shego's head, forcing the older woman to focus on her face again.

"Baby, come on, think hard. This is important," Kim implored. She had a feeling that Carmilla was behind this because Shego was telling her to go hang out with Carmilla, someone that she knew Shego did not trust and did not like. She was not sure how Carmilla had gotten to Shego since the blood-redhead had not met her lover as far as she knew. She did not mention Carmilla because she did not want to upset Shego while the former thief seemed somewhat in control of her own head. She wanted Shego to tell her what was going on without any outside influences that might muddle things up.

"I…" Shego focused her eyes directly on Kim, searching her girlfriend's face to help keep her on point and to get her mind working. "…someone told me…I figured it was you. I remember red hair…but, now that I think about it, the red wasn't your red…"

"What kind of red was it?"

"Deep red, like a crimson. She had blue eyes that cut right through me. They didn't even seem real. She looked like a ghost. Maybe the place is haunted," Shego muttered, voice fading a bit. She recalled thinking that the lair was haunted before she got the idea in her head that Kim was going outside to hang out with Carmilla.

Kim nodded. She hated to think this—she would hate to say it later on even more—but Shego was probably right about Carmilla being a vampire. It seemed like Carmilla had captured Shego in her thrall; this was the hypnotic power that Kim could barely do. It would explain why Shego was being so easily controlled, but there was no sign of how the mind-control was going on. This was why nothing showed up on the scans, and why Shego continued to see people that were not there. Carmilla _was_ there, coming and going through the darkness as she pleased.

"Shego, I think I will go out. Is that all right with you?" Kim inquired, sounding calm and normal.

"I already thought you were going out," Shego replied in a confused voice. She scratched her head, wondering why it seemed like Kim was repeating herself.

"So I am. I'm not sure when I'll be back," Kim replied, glancing over her shoulder, plotting what she was going to do to the bitch that was screwing around with _her_ girlfriend's peace of mind.

Shego pouted a little, not wanting to say that she was feeling neglected again. Kim sensed this and leaned over to tenderly kiss her lover on the cheek. The simple gesture warmed the older woman's soul. Shego pulled her into an embrace, the hug begging Kim to stay with her.

"I don't love you any less just because I'm going to spend some time with my friend. After tonight, I promise you, we'll go on more dates, spend a bunch of time together just lying around, and make love throughout the day like mad bunnies," the vampire declared.

Shego sighed, still feeling like Kim was drifting away from her. "Okay. I'll go work on the bathroom until you get back from the park."

Kim nodded; _right, I have to go to the park_. "I'll find you when I come back. I'll try to be back really soon. I want to cuddle with you some more," she quipped with a smile, kissing the corner of her lover's mouth in apology.

Shego slowly nodded, eyes revealing shattered emotions, and it broke Kim's heart. A snarl tugged at her vocal chords as she thought about the emotional turmoil that bitch Carmilla was putting Shego through. _And for what?! Probably something petty and trivial. Selfish blood-sucking immortal_.

The redhead tore out of the room, ready to go to the park and tear Carmilla apart, but her good senses overrode her impulsive behavior for once. She knew that Carmilla had to be a powerful vampire to have Shego so easily wrapped around her finger, especially considering that Shego was very strong-willed. Plus, the way Carmilla just came around her lover without being detected had to be because she had awesome power. Kim suspected that Carmilla was old, at least as old as Adrian had been. So, she was going to have to be careful—something that was not really in her nature, even before she was a vampire.

Before going to the park, Kim went into a secure room hidden in the lair. It was an armory at one time and the couple was planning to make it one again. They had requested that Wade made them a few weapons, knowing that vampires were always going to look for them, GJ would be hunting them down, and vampire hunters might come sniffing around too. They wanted to be ready, but Wade needed time because he did not want to make something that might harm Kim. So, it was empty…for the most part.

The only thing in the armory now was the Roman-style sword that belonged to Lee, the vampire hunter who met his demise by the hand of Doctor Director. Kim and Shego had taken it because they wanted to keep an eye on it, in case any other vampire hunters came around looking for the blade or for Lee. Eyeing the short sword, Kim remembered its sting, its burn, how it seemed to devour her flesh, trying to steal her life away. Surely it would have done so quickly if it were not for the Philosopher's Stone and her two closest friends coming to save her.

She stared at the sword for a long moment before reaching for it. Her hand trembled, nerves recalling the pain it induced. But, when her fingers wrapped around the hilt, she felt empowered. She felt more than capable of saving Shego from someone that was more than likely an ancient, much more powerful vampire.

"I'm coming, Carmilla. I'll teach you to mess with us, mess with Shego," Kim growled, clutching the weapon tightly in her grip.

With that thought, the vampire vanished from the room. Reappearing, she was in the park by a large tree, hiding in the shadows. The sword was sheathed on her back, covered by her red-orange mane, and vengeance was alive in her heart.

She peered around, seeing darkness and stillness blanketing the land. Down the way, she was aware that there were a few humans wandering about the large park, some for romantic reasons and other for nefarious. She could care less what humans did with each other right now. She just wanted Carmilla.

Taking only a few steps, she found her target sitting on a bench next to a flickering street lamp. The blood-redhead had her hands in her lap, looking like an angel, looking like a lie as far as Kim was concerned. The former hero willed herself to calm down, not wanting to arouse suspicions until she knew for certain what Carmilla had done to her beloved and what Carmilla planned to do with her. She adjusted the sword, hoping to hide it as best she could behind her back, and then she approached her _former_ friend.

Carmilla looked up without warning, blue eyes locking onto Kim, who did not hesitate in her steps. A bright smile lit up Carmilla's entire face as she climbed to her feet. She giggled as if completely delighted with something that only she knew while pressing her hands together.

"Kim, it's such a pleasant surprise to see you here!" Carmilla declared in a thrilled voice. She went to meet Kim a couple of feet from the bench, but Kim stopped almost a yard away.

Kim knew that Carmilla would try to embrace her if they got close enough and she did not want the blood-redhead to notice the sword. "I'm sure it is," the former cheerleader replied with obvious sarcasm, unable to control the wrath biting at her, imploring her to go at Carmilla and force her to leave Shego alone.

"Well, yes, it is always pleasant to see you, darling," Carmilla practically purred, but she did not go a step closer to other redhead. Her body tensed just a little. It would have gone unnoticed by almost anyone else, but Kim had very well trained eyes.

A sarcastic smirk tugged at Kim's top lip. "I'm sure you've missed me these past few days," she commented.

"Of course! It's been nearly two weeks since we last spoke! Why have you abandoned me so?" Carmilla inquired, sounding crushed. Her eyes even misted over with tears.

Kim's response was quick and clipped. "I have other friends, you know."

"None that feel for you what I do. I want you with me all the time. Do they feel the same? Do they want you as deeply as I do?" Carmilla asked, a half-smile tugging at her lips. The expression coupled with the glint in her eyes looked demonically angelic.

Kim frowned and finally realized what that shine was in Carmilla's eyes. "That's not going to work."

Blue eyes tried to look benign. "What's not going to work?" the voice did a much better job of sounding innocent, but Kim could finally tell it was all an act. This creature before her was predator, like she was, and on the hunt.

"I wondered for a while why I was so interested in hanging out with you rather than spending time with Shego. There was a reason why I would run out to be with you and leave her there to work on the house by herself. There was a reason why she would let me go, even though she didn't want me to. The only thing is, it works better on her than it does on me. Yes, I left, but it was because she pushed me to do it. She showed a disinterest in me. So, while you were using it on me, it was better to use it on her and then use her against me. Is it because we're similar that it doesn't work so well on me?" Kim inquired curiously.

Carmilla tilted her head, looking like a puzzled puppy…or at least that was what she was attempting to look like. The air around her and that strange glint in her eyes prevented that look for coming out full-force. And Kim could see it all now that she was looking for it.

"Perhaps I just don't want it to work on you," Carmilla said, her smile lived on, as if she had this whole thing planned.

"What exactly are you playing at, Carmilla? What do you want from me?" Kim demanded, glaring at the other redhead.

Red lips set into an impish smile. "I think it's obvious what I want from you," she commented as she circled Kim like a patient shark around a wounded seal. "You intrigue me so much, Kim. So, so much," she said in a whisper.

"I'm tired of being thought of as intriguing by selfish bastards like you," Kim snarled, anger clawing its way out of her mouth. Surprisingly, the bite in her tone did not seem to bother Carmilla at all. In fact, the blue-eyed woman looked amused, smiling more so and on the verge of giggling again.

"You'll get to that point one day, Kim. It's hard to live so long and not get that way," Carmilla replied.

"And just how long have you been alive?" Kim asked.

A finger went to Carmilla's pale chin. "Long enough to remember when Adrian made his first pet. Who would have thought that it took him so long to get it right?" she remarked, a teasing smirk now gracing her face.

Kim could not stop the snarl that tore out of her throat at the mention of _that_ name. "So, is that what this is about? You want me for a pet now like he did?" she inquired.

"Not so much a pet. I do enjoy your company, Kimmie. You're an intelligent and pleasant person to be around. I just want you, Kimmie," Carmilla answered honestly. A frown sliced across Kim's face at the use of her very personal nickname.

"So, you try to get me by influencing both myself and Shego? I guess the emotional and psychological distress you put Shego through was just an added bonus," Kim snapped.

Carmilla shrugged. "A human mind means nothing to me. They're genuinely frail creatures with few exceptions. The only reason she was never fully under my control—" she was cut off.

"She's too strong-willed for that!" Kim declared with pride.

"Oh, no, she's not. I have my thrall perfected. It's just your weak thrall would interfere and help dig her out of the pit, but no matter. I'm glad the charade is over. I want you by my side forever and always, Kimmie. So, it's only fair that you know my true nature," Carmilla said easily, shrugging a little as if it was all so frivolous.

"What makes you think I would want to be with you forever?" Kim sneered.

"Simple. This life, being immortal, is long. Long and hard and lonely. Humans are weak and frail creatures that pass all too soon, making them useless companions. They might as well be goldfish. Shego will be gone soon, Kimmie, so you might as well let her go now."

Kim scoffed like that was the most ridiculous nonsense that she had ever heard. "I will never let Shego go and I would like you to leave her be."

"You'll change your mind soon enough, but I am not a patient person, Kimmie," Carmilla declared, some edge in her voice now. The playful glint in her eyes was gone for a moment, replaced by a flash of heated fury.

"One would think you'd learn some patience if you have been alive as long as you claim. Now, I want you to leave Shego alone. I want you to leave us alone. I am very happy with my life and with my soul-mate," Kim proclaimed.

A snickered slid from Carmilla's mouth as she circled Kim, moving as if she was floating. "I can't do that, Kimmie. You're mine now and I mean to have you any way I can. Now that you're aware of the game and of my nature, I have no problem telling you that I can do much worse. I try my best to be gentle with lesser species. I am not a hard-hearted woman, but I will do what I must to get my way."

"I would never let you hurt Shego!" Kim snarled, red blotches starting to appear in the whites of her eyes.

"You wouldn't be able to do anything about it, just like you couldn't do anything about me using my thrall on her. What if one day you woke and found Shego had hanged herself in that pipe-ridden tomb you call a home?" A cruel smirk showed off a pearly white fang.

The air around Kim seemed to electrify. "You'd better not touch Shego."

"That's the point, my dear Kim. I wouldn't have to touch her. Merely suggest that this life is so hard to live, that you'll abandon her eventually, that you'd rather be with me, and how attractive the ceiling would look if she was swinging from it," Carmilla pointed out with a laugh.

"I won't let you do that," Kim proclaimed.

"You couldn't stop me if I did. I wouldn't have to stop at Shego either. Your family is all still quite human. What horrors I could visit to them before tasting each and everyone of them." A lively pink tongue slowly licked crimson lips.

Kim was so incensed now that her hair was standing on end. Her eyes bled over completely and her fangs were poking out of her lips. Veins peeked up from her forearms, neck, and even her forehead. The rage that she felt was so white-hot that she was surprised she did not burst into flames right then and there.

"Heartless, soulless bitch!" Kim roared, control fleeing from her like the birds flying out of the trees in the park thanks to her high volume. The winged-creatures startled a few humans, but the vampires did not break their gaze with each other.

"You can spare them all by giving into me, Kimmie. Come, we will live together. You will grow to be an ancient with me and those toddlers that hunt you now will fear you," Carmilla stated.

Kim scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Those 'toddlers' fear me and my mate already. I will become an ancient with Shego by my side. I will not allow you to harm anyone I hold dear," she proclaimed with much more than her usual confidence. Now, she was digging into the arrogance of a vampire. There was no such thing as hubris because she was a god.

"Kimmie, there's nothing you can do to stop me," Carmilla calmly pointed out, having the nerve to smile as if her words were nothing but the truth.

"For someone that pretends to know me so well, you don't seem to know the one basic thing about me."

"Which is?"

"I can do anything."

Carmilla chuckled for just a moment before Kim unsheathed the weapon on her side. The blood-redhead hissed while Kim flew into action, moving so quickly that it seemed like she vanished. When she reappeared, the sword was slicing through the air, aimed at Carmilla. The older vampire moved just in time to avoid being split in half, but her flesh still felt a nip from the blade, a small scratch burning her cheek.

"Foolish welt! You would attack me using the weapon of our enemy? How you no pride?" Carmilla spat as red lines formed in her eyes.

"You're the one with no pride! You come around and try to ruin a great relationship through trickery and then go so far as to threaten my family and mate to get your way! That's not having pride because you know I would never want to be with you of my own free will!" Kim declared.

"Watch your tongue, pup. You're no match for me. You can barely beat the lowly dogs that hunt you," Carmilla retorted.

"Yet you want this pup by your side for all eternity. Have you no pride?" Kim remarked, a taunting smirk curled on her top lip.

Carmilla growled, but then suddenly her whole demeanor changed. She went back to being calm and collected. Her eyes went back to normal and she regarded Kim with an oddly patient stare.

"I won't fight with you, Kimmie. I will make you drop that accursed metallic toothpick, though," the older female declared.

"I don't think so."

"You either drop it or I will use my influence over Shego to make her do something unspeakable to herself. She is still under my control and I can easily send messages by telepathy," Carmilla informed the former hero.

"Damn it."

"Damn it, indeed. I have much better control over my powers, Kimmie. I do so many things that you probably can't even imagine. One thought from me and your precious Shego would tear her own throat out," Carmilla boasted.

Kim growled for a moment and then suddenly started snickering. Carmilla arched an eyebrow to the change before finding out that Kim was not done yet. The former hero launched the sword at Carmilla, throwing it with ease, as if it was a dart. Carmilla's reaction was instant, fading and moving as quickly as she could.

"Kim, that was pathetic," Carmilla chuckled as she settled in a new space. Her eyes glanced at the sword, spotting stuck in a thick tree. She turned, wanting to laugh in Kim's face, only to find the younger vampire was gone.

"Pathetic? No. That would be you," Kim whispered into Carmilla's ear before slicing at the older woman with her razor sharp, long nails.

Carmilla gasped and fled as quickly as she could, barely escaping having her side ripped open by the former hero's talons. Kim smirked, looking much like a demon, and gave chase to Carmilla. As soon as the blood-redhead appeared, Kim was right behind, cutting at the older woman, obviously trying to slice huge chunks out of Carmilla. The blue-eyed female could barely dodge the attack.

Kim did not relent, going after Carmilla as if she was her most hated enemy. Carmilla growled, but continued to flee, moving short distances to keep away from Kim. She noticed olive eyes continuously glancing over at the tree with the sword in it.

"You think I'll let you get that sword back, welt?" Carmilla demanded.

"You think you can stop me?" Kim countered smugly, coming up behind Carmilla again.

The older vampire gasped, wondering where the hell Kim's speed was coming from. She zipped off in another direction, taking to the trees. Kim snickered in a low tone and continued to give chase, noticing that when Carmilla had to react instantly, she could not think too far ahead. _Perfect_.

"What makes you think I would want to spend eternity with you, Carmilla?" Kim inquired in a taunting tone, taking another swipe at the older female. She hit nothing more than leaves and branches from the tree, cutting them from the plant. "My Shego is perfect! She out does you in every sense!"

"You compare me to a filthy human!" Carmilla roared, red lines starting to conquer her eyes again.

"She is more than you'd ever be! She cares for me and about me! I'm not just some pet to her!" Kim replied, moving so that she would end up in front of her prey. "She knows how to treat me and take care of me! I know you would never be enough for that!"

Carmilla gasped, not because of the words, but because she almost ran into Kim. She quickly switched directions, flying up. Kim cut her off again, sending the elder into a dive. Kim snickered to herself. _Come into my parlor…_

The former hero cut off Carmilla's escape route once more, causing her to change direction again. They went on like this until they ended up back where they started. Kim smirked, reaching for the sword that was stick in the tree. As soon as her hand went out for it, Carmilla's hand was around her neck, squeezing the life out of her.

"I told you I wouldn't let you get that sword," Carmilla snarled.

"Who says I was going for the sword?" Kim remarked, cocky grin in place.

"What?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were close enough for me to do this." Kim shoved a thick, pointed tree branch into the left side of Carmilla's chest.

The blood-redhead let loose a soft gag as her eyes widened from the shock of being impaled. Blue eyes glanced down, in disbelief with what they were witnessing. The tree branch seemed to make the perfect stake, going easily through her ribs and into her heart. Blood bubbled up into her throat and oozed down the corners of her mouth.

"It's…an ash tree…" Carmilla realized.

"The park is full of them," Kim replied with a smirk. She had never been so thankful that Shego was always warning her about what type of woods were effective in staking out vampires.

"Kimmie…we could've…" Carmilla gasped and coughed up more blood.

"We could've nothing. Once you threatened Shego, you forfeited your life to me. You only made matters worse by threatening my famiy. I don't know what type of person you thought I was, but I'm not the sort that would spend an eternity as a hostage to you," Kim stated.

Carmilla collapsed in a heap before her body dissolved into ash. Kim walked away as if nothing happened, wanting to get back to Shego as quickly as she could. When she got home, she found her lover sitting in the middle one of the halls with half of the floor ripped up. Kim craned an eyebrow to this action and eased herself against Shego's back.

"Sweetheart, are you all right?" Kim asked curiously.

Shego scratched her forehead. "…I think so…"

"Then why are you sitting here on the floor?" Kim inquired.

"Because I was wondering why the hell am I ripping up floor by myself? I mean, if we're going to live here, why the hell aren't we doing this together?" Shego countered, her usual attitude coming out for the first time in a while.

"We will do it together, I promise."

"Then where the hell have you been? Done hanging out with Carmilla so soon?" Shego sneered.

Kim chuckled a little. "Let's go sit down. Boy, have I got a story to tell you," she said with a smile.

Shego made a slightly confused, but very curious face. She climbed to her feet and they went to the couch. Kim went through the whole story and then had to sit through Shego gloating from being right about Carmilla. Once the green-skinned woman was done with her "I toldja sos," they had a serious conversation.

"So, she had me locked in a thrall…" Shego nodded, more to herself than anything else. "I'll have to work on that."

"I'll help in any way I can," Kim proclaimed.

"I know you will, even though you helped a lot just by getting me out of that mess. I can't believe she trapped me so easily. We can't have that again because she almost won off of that," Shego pointed out.

"We'll work through it, sweetheart. We have all eternity to work through it," Kim said. Shego nodded again.

---------------

The night was almost pitch black; the moon was hidden by thick cloud cover. The wind blew, letting out a low shriek, making the trees tremble. Crooked branches bowed in the direction of the wind and covered the road in shadows.

Shego and Kim were walking down a dark, dirt path, holding hands. Kim glanced at Shego, taking in the glow that her pale skin always seemed to have, as if a halo covered the older woman. It was not an emerald glow, but almost golden color around Shego's near-peach-colored flesh. The couple suddenly stopped and smirked as six figures appeared before them. With their enhanced eyesight, the couple could easily tell that the figures were six individuals with glowing red eyes. The six newcomers hissed at the pair, all showing off long fangs and earning snickers from the couple.

"You know, Kimmie, you'd think after two hundred years, these blood-sucking idiots would get tired of having us kick their asses," Shego commented with a cocky smile before igniting her hands, bathing the area in jade light. With the shadows gone, the couple saw that they were surrounded by the six creatures-of-the-night, who looked ready to throw down despite the plasma.

"Apparently, vampires are very slow learners," Kim replied, fangs sliding out of her mouth. A red gleam went through her eyes.

It had been two hundred years since Kim had first been turned into a vampire, two hundred years since Shego rescued her from the tight grasp of Adrian, two hundred years since GJ hunted them, two hundred years since they drank from the Philosopher's Stone, two hundred years since Ron stepped up to save her from Lee the vampire hunter, two hundred years since Kim pulled Shego from the clutches of Carmilla, and two hundred years since they promised to stay together forever. The road had been long and hard, but loving and fulfilling. Sometimes, they would snap at each other from because disagreements were a part of life, but they never forgot that they loved each other and always made up quickly. They never stopped loving each other and tried to show it often with words and gestures. Of course, there was more to their lives than just being together for so long.

They both had taken the passing of their immediate families rough, but they made sure to support each other through each loss. They kept close ties with their families' descendants, grounded by those loving connections, even though they knew eventually those that they were close to would die. Still, they would create new ties with new family members and this kept them from losing themselves and kept them in touch with reality.

Through it all, they were still plagued by creatures of the night, hunting them down and seeking revenge for more and more bodies that Kim and Shego piled up because they kept getting attacked. Vampires and vampire hunters were always after the pair, which hardly fazed the couple now. In fact, it offered them some amusement.

Shego smirked while Kim grinned as they faced their foes, ready to get down to business with the six vampires around them. Even after two hundred years of doing so, thrashing the undead never seemed to get old...

---------------

The end.

Thank you to everyone that has read and enjoyed the "Vampire Kimmie" series (as I like to call it). It was a fun series to write. I appreciate all of the support that I got while writing it, so thank you all once again. See ya around!


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